Clamp for attachment to side of hospital bed

ABSTRACT

This clamp comprises a cylindrical shank on which is a slidable and rotatable sleeve. A lower clamp foot is secured to one end of the shank and an upper clamp foot is secured to the sleeve. The two clamp feet can be clamped onto a support which forms part of the side of the bed by a nut which is threaded onto the shank. A socket in the upper end of the shank is adapted to support a removable upright member used in connection with the bed.

OF HOSPITAL BED Ivan C. Bohlman, 208 North 2nd Ave. Box 1208, Walla Walla, Wash. 99362 Filed: May 25., 1970 Appl. No.: 40,083

United States Patent Bolllmam [54] CLAMP FOR ATTACHMENT TO SIDE [72] Inventor:

CLAMP FOR ATTACHMENT TO SIIDIE OI? HOSPITAL BED BACKGROUND OF Tl-IE INVENTION This clamp is an improvement on clamps of the form disclosed in prior U.S. Pat. No. 2,919,097, issued Dec. 29, 1959 to myself and Raymond A. Bohlman. Clamps of this type are designed so they can be applied to frame parts of hospital beds to support devices or apparatus used by, or in connection with, patients in the beds.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of this invention is to improve clamps of this type and render them better adapted for use on all forms of hospital beds and particularly on new types of hospital beds which have recently gone into extensive use.

Another object is to provide a clamp having a normally upright shank, a sleeve slidably and rotatively movable on said shank, two opposed clamp feet carried by the shank and the sleeve respectively and adapted to be engaged with a vertical metal flange which forms part of the lateral edge of a bed, a nut on the shank adapted to securely clamp the two feet onto the metal flange and a socket in the upper end of the shank to receive and support an upwardly extending member at the side of the bed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a view partly in vertical cross section and partly in elevation of my clamp showing the same applied to a hospital bed.

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. ll showing a clamp of modified form.

FIG. 3 is a somewhat diagrammatic view partly in section and partly in elevation and on a larger scale than the other figures showing two of my clamps attached to upright metal flanges at the sides of a bed and supporting an arch shaped frame member which extends across the bed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In many recently made hospital beds the usual bed springs are omitted and the mattress 11 rests directly on the flat horizontal part of a mattress support which has a downwardly extending flange 9 along each edge, The clamp herein disclosed is well adapted for use on beds of this type. These clamps are applied in an upright position to the flanges 9 of the mattress support I0 and the terms upper and lower, as herein used, apply to parts of the clamps when they are so applied. However, it will be understood that the clamps can be applied to other supports and used in other positions.

The clamp shown in FIGS. l and 3 comprises a shank l2, preferably of cylindrical cross section, having external threads 13 on its upper end portion and having in said upper end portion an axial socket of substantial depth adapted to receive a member which is to be supported in an upwardly extending position. A lower clamp foot 15 is rigid with the lower end portion of the shank l2 and extends sidewise therefrom and has an upwardly extending part I6. The parts I5 and 16 thus combine to form a hook-shaped lower clamp foot which hooks under the bottom edge of flange 9.

A sleeve ll7 is slidable and preferably rotatively movable on the shank 12 and an upper clamp foot I8 is rigid with the upper end portion of sleeve 17 and protrudes transversely therefrom and is adapted to engage with the mattresssupporting member I0 directly above the edge of flange 9. Upper clamp foot I@ is shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 as being L-shaped and as having one of its flanges extending upwardly and welded to the sleeve I7. However the flange which is welded to sleeve 17 can extend downwardly, as does a like flange of a clamp foot 18 shown in FIG. 2 to form a pad which rests against part 9 and helps in supporting the clamp. A nut 2li, operable on the threaded upper end part of shank I2 engages with the upper end of sleeve I'l and is used to clamp the two clamp feet onto flange 9 or onto any other similar support.

T e sleeve I7 rs short enough sorts lower end will always be clear of the lower clamp foot I5 even when the nut 2li is in its lowermost position on the shank I2 and preferably a compression spring 20 is interposed between the lower end of said sleeve 17 and the lower clamp foot l5. Spring 20 yieldingly holds the sleeve I7 and upper clamp foot I8 retracted when the nut 2l is loosened and makes it easier to apply the clamp to a bed. Also the spring 20 yieldingly resists rotary movement of the sleeve when the clamp is detached and this prevents lost motion and makes the clamp more convenient to handle in applying it to a bed. The upwardly extending part I6 of the lower clamp foot is short and this makes the clamp easier to apply to the flange 9 or to a like support.

One use for which this clamp is well suited, see FIG. 3, is to support an arch-shaped frame member 22 which is spaced above and extends across the foot portion of the bed and supports bedding used on the bed above and clear of the feet of a patient. This is particularly desirable when a foot exerciser board is being used near the foot of the bed to enable a patient in the bed to exercise his feet, this being an exercise frequently used to correct, or minimize the danger of, foot trouble cornmonly known as foot drop. The arch-shaped frame 22, when attached to two clamps on opposite sides of a bed, prevents the clamps from tilting outwardly and becoming detached from the bed. Preferably a setscrew 23 is provided in the upper end part of the shank I2 to secure any member which is inserted to socket 14 to the clamp.

In the clamp of modified form shown in FIG. 2 the parts indicated by primed numbers are similar to the corresponding parts indicated by similar nonprimed numbers in FIGS. I and 3 and they operate in a similar way. The lower clamp foot l5' shown in FIG. 2 differs from the lower clamp foot shown in FIG. I in that the upwardly extending part I6 thereof is longer and extends upwardly inside of the flange 9' far enough to prevent outward tilting movement of the clamp. lf desired the part I6' can be made long enough so its upper end will en gage with and clamp against the under side of the mattress support 10'.

Obviously use of these clamps is not limited to beds having mattress supports of the type herein disclosed but either of these clamps can be applied to a conventional angle bar side rail of any bed having such a side raiI. Also either of these clamps may be used to support, from a bed frame, an upright post or rod, which in turn, supports a flask or similar receptacle used in the treatment of a patient in the bed.

I claim:

ll. The combination with a bed having an upright flange extending along the edge thereof, of a clamp comprising a shank having an externally threaded upper end portion; a socket in the upper end portion of said shank adapted to receive a member to be supported; a hook-shaped lower shank foot rigid with the lower end portion of said shank and extending sidewise and upwardly relative to said shank; a sleeve rotatable and slidably movable longitudinally on said shank; an upper clamp foot rigid with and protruding transversely from the upper end portion of said sleeve; a nut on the threaded upper end portion of said shank adapted to engage with the upper end portion of said sleeve and clamp said two clamp feet onto the upright flange at the edge of the bed; a compression spring interposed between the lower end of said sleeve and the lower clamp foot, said spring yieldingly and frictionally urging said sleeve against said nut, whereby when the clamp is detached from the flange maximum separation of said two clamp feet is maintained and undesirable rotary movement of the sleeve and upper clamp foot on the shank is minimized. 

1. The combination with a bed having an upright flange extending along the edge thereof, of a clamp comprising a shank having an externally threaded upper end portion; a socket in the upper end portion of said shank adapted to receive a member to be supported; a hook-shaped lower shank foot rigid with the lower end portion of said shank and extending sidewise and upwardly relative to said shank; a sleeve rotatable and slidably movable longitudinally on said shank; an upper clamp foot rigid with and protruding transversely from the upper end portion of said sleeve; a nut on the threaded upper end Portion of said shank adapted to engage with the upper end portion of said sleeve and clamp said two clamp feet onto the upright flange at the edge of the bed; a compression spring interposed between the lower end of said sleeve and the lower clamp foot, said spring yieldingly and frictionally urging said sleeve against said nut, whereby when the clamp is detached from the flange maximum separation of said two clamp feet is maintained and undesirable rotary movement of the sleeve and upper clamp foot on the shank is minimized. 